This invention relates to improvements in hatch cover systems for railroad cars and, in particular, to a cover system that provides access ports at the ends of the main hatch covers which may be independently opened and closed by port covers which also serve as battens, and that significantly reduces the number of hinges and other hardware required to mount the hatch covers and associated components.
Railway hopper cars have been employed for years to transport particulate and granular materials such as grain. Typically, a car is loaded or unloaded through the use of overhead chutes that extend through one or more hatches in the top of the car that have been opened for loading or unloading purposes. One type of hopper car in widespread use presents a continuous trough extending substantially the length of the car which communicates with the top of the car and is closed during transport by a series of longitudinally extending, end-to-end hatch covers. One means of securing the hatch covers during transport is to employ battens located at the abutting ends of the covers that are locked in place to hold the covers closed.
In a railroad car of the type just described, the battens are independently mounted on hinges and must be released and pivoted away from the hatch covers before the covers can then be swung to open positions. It may be appreciated, therefore, that the opening of one hatch cover to gain access to the trough requires the release of two battens and then the manual lifting of the cover to its open position. The cover may be of from eight to thirteen feet in length and weigh on the order of 100 pounds. Furthermore, this arrangement requires the use of a number of separate hinges and hardware to mount each cover and the associated battens.
In summary, the hatch arrangement described above does not provide a means to gain access to the trough without manually raising large, heavy hatch covers. The battens and their hinges are independent parts that add to the complexity of the arrangement. Separate hinges for the covers and the battens add to the number of components required and increase the cost as well as the time required to initially install the hatch covers and then maintain the covers and associated components over the life of the hopper car.